


The Aftermath

by NaeSpark



Series: I'd Rewind This Kiss a Million Times [1]
Category: Life Is Strange (Video Game)
Genre: F/F, Post-Episode 5: SacBay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-10
Updated: 2016-08-12
Packaged: 2018-04-30 22:43:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,277
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5182397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NaeSpark/pseuds/NaeSpark
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After Max decides to sacrifice Arcadia Bay for the sake of Chloe's life, they both take a time out in the woods before returning to civilization.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. "I Love You"

  You both have nightmares in your sleep. You wake each other up with your screams, only to hold each other shakily in the backseat of your car.

  You hear it on the radio; they’re looking for survivors. They found none. You could have come out of your hiding place already, but you can’t face people yet.

  Maybe you will feel up to it when the nightmares pass...

  Sometimes the silence becomes too loud, so you hum to each other until one of you falls asleep, while the other watches over.

  You don’t talk much, either. You lean on each other and hold hands, rest your foreheads together and feel happy to be alive, despite the weight of the sacrifices that want to swallow you whole. Sometimes the only words you exchange the entire day are a soft “I love you” before falling asleep, cramped inside the pick-up.

  Chloe asks you if you’re sure of your choice, if you’re truly willing to love a fuck-up of a child, a selfish punk with daddy issues. You hold her face with both hands and assure her you wouldn’t go full Homura Akemi for anyone else, cross your heart and hope to die. She lets herself be held in place and closes her eyes with a sigh, muttering about the impossibility of her falling in love with such an irredeemable nerd but, alas, here she is. You want to kiss her for saying that. But you’ve only kissed her once before, in what feels like centuries ago. You bite your lip and sigh.

  “Max? Did I say something wrong? You don’t usually leave me hanging, here.” She seems worried but, then again, she’s been looking at you as if she expected you to vanish into thin air, lately.

  “I’m here. I’m sorry.” You shake your head, “I was just thinking about things.” You snuggle into her arms and let her embrace you, breathing her scent. The scent of smoke is fading from her clothes, being replaced by Chloe’s own scent, warm and faintly reminding you of worn denim. It comforts you.

  “I need a shower.” She looks at you. “We’re going to have to return to civilization, eventually.”

  “I know.”

  “Yeah. I’m not too thrilled about it either.”

  You close your eyes and place your head on her chest, feeling it rise and subside. Your head feels empty and silence falls between you again. Chloe rubs your shoulders and starts humming softly, and you know it won’t be long until you drift to sleep.

***

  The sun is setting when you wake up, finding out Chloe is sitting in front of the cliff. She doesn’t seem disturbed by your rustling.

  “This is what you photographers call ‘the golden hour’, right? The best time to look at the sunset?”

  Your chest tightens. “Hey Chloe…”

  “Yeah?”

  “Remember that timeline where I had to… you had a car crash and I had to… I had to…”

  She wraps her arm around your shoulder. “Yeah. What about it?”

  “You said the same thing about the sunset.” You chuckle and wipe a tear away. “You also said you hated the word ‘hella’?”

  “Bullshit. ‘Hella’ is my favourite word.”

  “I’m serious.” You sit up very straight and prepare for your best Chloe impersonation. “No offense, Max, but I hate that word.”

  “My voice isn’t that low.” She grins. “No offense, Max, but your Chloe-sona sucks.”

  You smile and get up, checking the back of the car for dinner. Fortunately, you were able to salvage food and water, bringing enough with you to be comfortable for a few days.

  You hear leaves crackling behind you and turn around to find a dark shape crawling toward you. You’re about to call out for Chloe when a low whimper catches your attention.

  “Pompidou?”

  The big brown dog limps in your direction, headbutting your knees before sitting down in exhaustion. You open a can of meat and give it to him. He devours it and then whimpers one more time, licking its back leg.

  “Chloe! Can you give me a hand?”

  “What’s up, Super-Max?” She pats the dirt off her pants. “Holy shit, is that Pompidou?” She runs toward you with a look of disbelief on her face.

  “He’s hurt.”

  Chloe kneels beside you and you show her his leg, dirtied by blood and oozing with pus. She still seems too shocked to act on her own, so you ask her to bring you clean water and the first-aid kit. Pompidou snarls softly as you clean the wound and put anti-septic on it, but doesn’t bite you as you bandage it. Chloe pets the dog all the while, whispering words of comfort and telling him what a good dog he was.

  When you’re done, he licks your hands and falls asleep with a peaceful sigh. Chloe still seems zoned out, running her fingers through thick brown fur. When she finally looks down at him, she utters “I’m so sorry about Frank, buddy.”

  She’s still petting Pompidou when you wrap your arms around her and let tears run down your face. She tenses at first, quickly relaxing into your embrace. You lead her to a comfortable grass spot and lay with her. She squeezes you.

  “I love you…” She whispers.

  “I love you too.”

  You fall asleep again.

***

  This time, you’re the first to wake up. Your companion breathes evenly, and it’s the first time in days you’ve seen her so relaxed. You realise it’s also the first time since the tornado that you haven’t had a nightmare.

  Her skin looks paler in the moonlight, and you reach out to touch one of her defined cheekbones. Her eyelids flutter and she flashes you a sleepy smile. You bring yourself closer and place your lips in hers. She corresponds very slowly and you drift to darkness once more.

***

  You wake to find gentle blue eyes upon your face. Blushing, Chloe places a small kiss on your lips.

  “Now we’re even.”

  “Actually, I’ve kissed you twice and you’ve only kissed me this once…”

  Her expression softens and her voice is barely audible. “We can fix that…”

  You find it easier said than done when you come close, realising you’re too nervous to move. Everything, from her dilated pupils to her warm breath, is much too distracting and you’re suddenly overwhelmed by the knowledge that this girl and you are in love with each other to the point of sacrificing everything to stay together.

  Holy shit, you must be seven different degrees of insane, but the truth is that you can’t regret any of your actions and their respective consequences.

  Your foreheads touch. You close your eyes and feel Chloe’s hand stroking your arm. Your hands rest on the hollow of her chest and your face shifts so slightly your noses barely brush. You’re so close you can hear her heart race - or is it your own?

  It doesn’t matter.

  Her lips have captured yours and you can only think about how soft they are. She seems to notice yours are a bit chapped, running her tongue across them very slowly. Your eyes roll pleasantly under your eyelids and a small moan makes its way through your uneven breaths. Your moan causes Chloe to inhale sharply, pressing her lips on yours even harder and making you kiss back with the same intensity.

  Her arms wrap around your neck and you bring yourself closer, intertwining your legs with hers. She moans when your knee hits her pubis, gripping the fabric of your shirt.

  You break the kiss, panting for air, and look over to your… best friend? You don’t even know where you stand, right now, despite all the times you’ve whispered your love to each other. All you know is she has a gleeful look on her face and that she is giggling. Chloe. Giggling. You’ve definitely survived the apocalypse.

  You hug each other, laughing and pecking each other on the lips, trailing each other’s face with kisses.

  Pompidou barks. Chloe smirks at him.

  “Don’t be jealous just because you don’t have a girlfriend!”

  Girlfriends, yes, that’s what you are.


	2. Uncovering

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Apocalypse survivors and PTSD.

  “Post-apocalypse survivors mack on each other to celebrate their success on surviving said apocalypse!”

  “Chloe, it wasn’t the end of the world; the world is still here.”

  “Don’t rain on my parade, Cauliflower. Plus, ‘apocalypse’ doesn’t even mean ‘end of the world’. It’s Latin or something.”

  “Greek.” You chuckle. “And you’re right, it means, uh… ‘Uncovering’, I think.”

  “Uncovering?” Chloe sits down with her legs crossed.

  “The whole thing about destruction being the prelude to a new beginning, exposing what is wrong and leaving it behind?” You purse your lips.

  “Yeah, yeah, the coming of a new age. Essentially the same thing.” She cracks her knuckles, getting comfortable. “It doesn’t have to mean destruction, I think. It’s a change. Something fundamental. Like the Death Card, in Tarot.”

  “You know Tarot?”

  Chloe shrugs and sips on her can of Pepsi. “Rachel was into it so it kind of rubbed off on me. I had a deck somewhere in my room. I assume it went to shit, along with the rest of the house.” She glances at the bite marks on her straw. “I hardly ever used it because I never thought the future would bring me jackshit.”

  “You can read cards? Wowser, that’s amazing!”

  “Rachel was the witch type, I just picked it up here and there.”

  “That’s still awesome.”

  She raises an eyebrow at you and grins. “You think? Maybe I’ll buy another deck when we… well, when we get out of here.”

  You lay back on the grass and watch the tree leaves fluttering in the wind. The thought of simply staying in the forest forever is incredibly tempting, but you know it can’t last. “We’ll be in a lot of trouble if we don’t find jobs.”

  Chloe blows on her straw. “Actually, we kinda won’t.” She utters.

  “What?”

  Your lover shifts uncomfortably. “Well, I sort of looted stores and a bunch of corpses…”

  “Shit.”

  Her expression hardens as she avoids your gaze. “I didn’t want you to think of me as the sort of criminal that goes around checking out dead bodies.” She fidgets. “Anyway, they were dead and we needed the cash to start a new life or whatever. _Carpe mortis_ or fuck if I know.” She bites her straw again and hugs her knees.

  “It’s okay.” You come closer and touch her shoulder. “It was a smart move. We need money to live, even after we reach my parents in Seattle.”

  “Fuck.” Chloe looks at you, dumbstruck. “I should take you there. They probably think you’re dead. Holy shit…” She starts to rise, but you stop her once you notice the tears in her eyes. “You don’t get it.” Her voice is hoarse and panged with guilt. “You shouldn’t let people think you’re dead.”

  You hold her closer, regretting reminding her of the feeling of looking for a missing loved one. Your throat threatens to close up. “I’m alive and I’m going back. Just not now, okay? I’m not ready.” You bury your face on her shoulder. “Not yet, Chloe… Just a little longer… Please...”

  She stops, turning around to bring her trembling hands to your face. “Shit… I’m sorry.” She frowns deeply. “We can stay. We can stay as long as you need.” Your face rubs against her shoulder as you nod.

  Neither of you moves as the first raindrops fall on your faces and slide down your noses. You kiss Chloe on the lips. She looks as miserable as you feel. Leading her to the pick-up truck by the hand, you let Pompidou take the front seats.

  Thunder.

  When thunder breaks above you, you cling onto each other with a horrified gasp. Your nails dig into Chloe’s arm as you shut your eyes and pretend it isn’t happening. As the second thunder roars, Chloe covers her mouth not to scream. Her heart beats wildly and her breaths are choked in her lungs.

_It’s another storm. It’s another storm. It’s not over yet._

  Your companion stares out the car windows as if she’s seen a ghost, holding you strongly as rain pours on top of the pick-up and drenches your, now unlit, cooking fire. You’re shaking and panting against her shirt, feeling your stomach glued to your back. It takes all of your willpower not to jump to the front seat and drive off. Some part of you is rational enough to know it’s only a storm: you haven’t used your power and you’re not in Arcadia Bay.

  “Max. It’s happening again, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know.” Images of the tornado crashing against the pier flash against your shut eyelids.

  A tree branch falls on the hood of your car, causing you to flinch and screech against the fabric of Chloe’s top.

  “I probably deserve this.” Chloe stutters. “I should be dead and they’re coming back for me.” She’s shaking, looking at you with terrified blue eyes. “You should just go away. Maybe if I’m far away enough, you’ll be safe.”

  “Chloe, don’t say that.” You try to keep your face as serious as possible. “It’s just a storm.”

  “You said you didn’t know that!”

  “I don’t!” You bite your lower lip so hard you feel the taste of blood on the tip of your tongue. “But I don’t want you to go away either. We’re in this together.”

  She shifts helplessly and thinks for a long while before wrapping her arms around you once more. “Fine. Shit. I don’t know why I’m freaking out so much.”

  “S-same…”

  The blanket covering you rustles and you are greeted by Pompidou’s warm tongue on your hands. It startles you, at first, but as he rests his head on Chloe’s knee and licks your fingers, you begin to calm down. He doesn’t seem the slightest bit disturbed. Your lover begins to pet him idly, looking out the window.

  Her heartbeat is still irregular when the sky clears out and the first rays of sunlight shine between the clouds.

  It really was just a storm.


	3. Survivors

  “That was weird and scary. Mostly scary.”Chloe’s arms are still around you, a lot more relaxed than before. “PTSD kind of stuff.”

  “Yeah, let’s not tell your therapist about this.”

  “Or anyone else.”

  “Only Pompidou will ever know.” You pet him and he gazes up at both of you with confused eyes. Chloe pats his nose with a smug grin, crossing her feet and shifting to reach her pack of cigarettes. She pulls one out with her lips, which you find strange until you realise she did it not to unwrap her arm from around you.

  “I didn’t think I’d ever feel like this again.” She murmurs, after a moment of silence.

  You look up at her as she absentmindedly rolls the window down and lights her cigarette. Smoke dances in front of your eyes, before exiting the pick-up without a sound. Chloe’s breath is regular, your head rising and subsiding with her chest as you await an explanation.

  “After William died I couldn’t deal with my mom driving alone for a long time. I’d grab her arm and beg her to stay home. In fact, she didn’t even have to drive. The thought of her leaving the house and never coming back was already too much for me.” She shakes her ashes outside and pulls another breath of smoke. “I thought I was over these kinds of thoughts of impending doom.”

  “I’m sorry. I really should have stayed.”

  She pulls you closer when you pull away from her. “William would still be dead and I would still be fucked up. Besides, Rachel came along, so I wasn’t alone for too long.”

  “Hm.” You close your eyes.

  “You mean more to me than she did.” She cuts your trail of thoughts.

  “What?”

  “You’ve always been here. You’ve been my best friend since forever.” You glance over at her lips, her cigarette dangling as she speaks, but never falling off. “She’s… was important, duh.” You both ignore the trace of pain in her voice. “But that’s because she was there and you weren’t. She was my friend and pulled me out of a hellholle, and I had a crush on her, but… it was different. Besides, she had that whole thing going on with Frank and told me nothing about it. At least I KNOW you. I think I do.”

  “You do.”

  “Then you know what I mean.” She grins and leans back comfortably.

  You look over at her once more, turning your body to face her, to which she reacts by putting out her cigarette on the windowsill and placing her lips in yours. She holds your face with both hands, surprisingly gentle, and takes her time tasting your lips. Her breath is still saturated with smoke, but her tongue feels fresh against yours, stroking and licking it slowly. Your teeth clash slightly and you shift your faces naturally in response.

  Your hands, although stronger in grip, are shier in contact, but that doesn’t mean the feeling of her palms against the skin of your hips is unwelcome. She breaks the kiss to bring her lips to your neck, taking a second to adjust her position, groaning in discomfort. You chuckle against her chin, kissing her jaw as you raise your body to make sure she could find a comfortable spot, but the truck is too small for your straddling and kissing, and Chloe lets out an exasperated sigh.

  “This is not working.”

  You blush and look down, feeling your underwear pressing wetly against you. “It’s _kinda_ working.”

  “Well, yeah, _that’s_ working fine.” She blushes unexpectedly deeply. “But _this_ ” She gestures at the cramped up space. “Isn’t.”

  “Right.”

  “And I don’t want to lose my virginity in my car. It’s too cliché.”

  You blink. “You’re still a virgin?”

  “Uh, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” Chloe fixes her hair and raises her eyebrows, adjusting again so you can lay comfortably between her legs. She winces when you press too hard by accident, making you blush more.

  “You told me you had boy toys… and Rachel…”

  She grimaced. “I made out with some dudes and got them to pay for my stuff, but I didn’t go that far.”

  “Okay.”

  “Guys are too handsy. You give them a kiss and they immediately go for your ass.”

  “So I need to make a mental note not to grab your butt?”

  “Gods, no. YOU can touch my butt. You’re not trying to get me into your bed.”

  You look over and tap the seat. “I’m trying to get you into your pickup.”

  “Succeeding.” She grins, wrapping her arms around your neck. “Which is quite the feat, Caulfield.”

  You smile into her kisses, her lips as soft as they were the first time you’d touched them, fluttering tenderly onto your nose and cheekbones. Your bliss is short-lived, as she stops and gives you a serious look.

  “And, like I said, Rachel was different. I guess it was pretty one-sided anyway.” She looks away.

  You can’t help but feel relieved by the fact that sex is as much of a mystery to Chloe as it is to you. Maybe you won’t make that much of a fool of yourself.

  “Max.” Her tone is softer than you expected. “I know you keep comparing yourself to Rachel.” As night falls, she lights another cigarette, as if to compensate for the fading light. You remain silent, unsure of what you are supposed to tell her. Even if you tried to lie, her tone was too matter-of-factly to let it slide.

  “You could, at least, let me pretend I was confident.”

  She smiles. “Nah, being confident is my thing, not yours.”

  You tap on the tip of her nose with your finger, which she attempts to bite. You curl up in her arms, letting yourself feel safe.

  “I feel like I can’t do anything right.”

  “What?” Your companion seems startled.

  “I left you when William died, and I doomed Arcadia Bay.”

  “Wow, Max, no, okay?” She wraps her arms tightly around you. “You saved my life! Hell, you saved me a LOT of times. And you had no idea of what would happen to Arcadia Bay, it’s not like your power came with instructions.” She kisses you deeply. “You did what you thought was right. Neither of us would be here if you hadn’t done what you did. Isn’t that worth it?”

  She was right. Her voice is so pained that it reminds you that she is every bit as scared as you are. Something inside you decides that you will never let her feel that much pain again.

  “It’s worth it.” You look at her. “I’m sorry.”

  “The world is fucked up. We’re just puppets and Fate treats us like voodoo dolls. Pins and needles. Pins and needles.” She uses her fingertips to demonstrate, poking your sides as she speaks, until you have turned into a laughing mess. You pull her to a kiss, and your bodies become tangled up in strange ways again, Chloe’s knee pressed between your legs in ways that urge you to seek more contact. As your kiss deepens, her hands travel downward, pulling you closer by your ass and pressing you harder against her knee. You gasp against her lips and she releases the tiniest moan, so much like a whimper that it seems almost out of character for her. “W-wait.”

  You look down at her, confused.

  “I have an idea.” She rises and opens the door, stepping out of the truck. You notice the windows are fogged up and remember that one scene of Titanic _everyone_ knows about. Chloe’s cliché remark begins to make even more sense. Lost in your thoughts, you only notice her when you hear cans falling and her muffled curse. You step out to see her removing things from the back of the pickup, and half your remaining food and supplies already tossed on the grass. You decide to help her unload, making much less of a ruckus, and see her fetch blankets and laying them on the floor of the truck. You understand her, now.

  You spend the next few moments in silence, embarrassingly aware that you are making your bed for the night on the back of a truck, and knowing that it was not for you to sleep in it. Well, not anytime soon, at least.

  Chloe looks at the finished result with a proud smile, and you chuckle. Layers of blankets had made the flooring somewhat less hard, and you even had a set of pillows.

  “I swear” She mutters. “If it starts raining again after we had all this work, I will slap a bit-” She is interrupted by your hand in hers, leading her to your ‘love nest’ in silence. She holds your cheek with her other hand. “Are you sure you want to do this?”

  You nod. “I do.” You lay back and pull her on top of you. “I really do.”

  The night is starry and clear, and the only sounds you can hear are the crickets chirping and the rustling of clothes being removed and tossed aside. Moonlight shines on Chloe’s skin when she takes her top off, and you place a kiss on her collarbone. Your bare breasts press against hers when she takes hold of you, and her skin is so hot you almost want to ask her if she is running a fever. Her body is bony but not uncomfortable to lay against, and your pants and underwear join the pile of shirts soon after. She pauses to look at you and you pull the covers on top of the both of you. Your hands find hers and your fingers intertwine when you kiss, slick moisture slowly running between the both of you. She lays beside you and brings her hand down to your stomach, pressing a small kiss to your cheek before leading it down to your sex. Your heart rate spikes and you grip her shoulder, pressing your cheek to hers and closing your eyes as she touches you, trying to muffle the gasps and whimpers that come out of your mouth. She lets one finger in, curling it up to find your g-spot and making you moan against her mouth, which you had desperately seeked for a kiss.

  Everything seems to last forever until you spike, tensing under her and then falling down on your pillow in a state of tired bliss. She kisses you softly before asking if you’re done. You nod. You hear her chuckle in your ear. “Good, because I’m only just starting.”

***

  You spend hours between blankets, exchanging kisses and touches until the sun is peeking from behind the clouds and your mind is too clouded and exhausted to think. She is panting beside you, with an arm draped lazily around your waist and a dopey smile on her lips.

  “I never knew you knew those tricks, Max. I underestimated your prowess.”

  “Yeah.” You scoff. “Like when my wrist started hurting and I had to ask you to use my other hand, because you were clutching it so hard I thought you’d die if you let go.”

  “I was distracted.”

  “I noticed.”

  You kiss and hold each other, your breathing becoming more even as minutes went by.

  “Maybe we should head for Seattle, today.”

  “Are you sure?” She looks up at you.

  “Yeah. I feel ready, now. Like I know everything will be okay.”

  Chloe rolls her eyes. “We already knew everything was going to be okay, you dork.”

  You laugh. Yes. As long as you stayed together, everything would.


End file.
